2009-07-13_Minutes--Procès-verbalJuly 13, 2009
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Minutes of the Portion of the Committee of the Whole Meeting Open to the Public
Monday, July 13, 5:00 p.m.
Council Chamber, City Hall
Present:
Mayor Court,
Deputy Mayor Chase and Councillors Court, Farren, Higgins, Killen, McGuire,
Mott, Snook, and Sullivan.
- and -
P. Woods, Acting City Manager; J. Nugent, City Solicitor; G. Yeomans,
Commissioner of Finance and Treasurer; B. Morrison, Commissioner of Leisure
Services; E. Gormley, Common Clerk, and J. Taylor Assistant Common Clerk.
1. Meetina Called To Order
The Mayor called the Committee of the Whole meeting to order.
1.1 Morneau Sobeco Presentation: Financial Advisory Services to the Employee
Pension Plan - Meeting #4
Referring to a submitted presentation, Mel Bartlett provided a recap of Meeting #3
between Morneau Sobeco and Council and he outlined the agenda for Meeting #4.
Mr. Bartlett explained that he is concerned that the meetings between Morneau Sobeco
and Council are not moving ahead quickly enough to address the valuation deadline of
31/12/2009. He stated that if Council desires consultation with pension stakeholders,
then this process should begin within the next few weeks to finish in time.
On motion of Deputy Mayor Chase
Seconded by Councillor Farren
RESOLVED that Council advise Morneau Sobeco that the cash funding requirement is
the appropriate measure of the cost of the pension plan that is critical for Council at the
present time.
Question being taken the motion was carried
(The Mayor and Councillor Court withdrew from the meeting)
Deputy Mayor Chase replaced the Mayor as Chair.
(Councillor Higgins withdrew from the meeting)
On motion of Councillor Farren
July 13, 2009
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RESOLVED that the Commissioner of Finance provide information with respect to what
level of financing the City could provide to the employee pension plan without increasing
the City's tax burden.
Responding to a question from a Councillor, the Commissioner of Finance stated that
the total contribution to the City of Saint John Pension Plan is 26.58% per year. He
noted that employees contribute 10.5% towards this, while the employer contributes
16.08% of payroll towards pension. He stated that Council must decide if it would
tolerate an increase in the City tax rate in order to contribute more of the City's funds
towards the pension plan. He reminded Council that the tax rate increases 1 cent for
every $500,000 that is spent.
On motion of Councillor Killen
Seconded by Councillor Sullivan
RESOLVED that Common Clerk be directed to contact the City employee groups,
including the retirees, and schedule a meeting with the Committee of the Whole and a
representative of each group to discuss the employee pension plan, and further, that the
Acting City Manager be directed to make arrangements to have an independent
facilitator in place for this meeting.
The Acting City Manager stated that pension benefits are not negotiated, but that they
are provided by statutory provision. He remarked that employees have a vested interest
in finding a reasonable solution to the pension issue. Mr. Woods suggested that a
meeting between Council and the various pension plan stakeholders should be
facilitated by someone with no vested interest in the pension plan. He recommended
that the meeting be a facilitated problem-solving session where the various parties would
attempt to arrive at a common understanding of the problem and agree upon potential
viable solutions.
Question being taken the motion was carried with Councillors Farren, McGuire, and
Titus voting nay.
(Councillors McGuire, Snook, and Titus withdrew from the meeting)
Adjournment
During the above discussions, the Clerk advised that Council had lost a quorum and
therefore the meeting would need to be adjourned. The meeting adjourned at 7:15 p.m.
Common Clerk